The present invention relates to video game terminal systems, and in particular, to video game terminal systems where a number of terminals are linked and share information with a remote computer.
Coin and bill operated video game terminals provide a popular source of entertainment are commonly provided in bars and restaurants.
The sophistication of the video games continues to increase and the processing capability and speed of the terminal has also increased. Most video game terminals now use a computer processor similar to pentium processors and include extensive memory storage arrangements for audio and graphical files used by the video games. Some video game terminals have as many as 60 (+) different games which can be played, some of which are very memory intensive, whereas other games such as simple card games, require much less memory.
The terminals provide additional revenue which is normally divided between the location owner and a company which is providing or leasing the terminal to the particular location. Some video game terminals have been linked with a central computer for operating certain games in a tournament mode. The game results of the particular tournament game are provided to a central computer and the results are accessible at each terminal. It is common in such tournaments to have a local leading score as well as the overall network leading scores.
Prizes have been suggested with respect to rewarding the individual leaders of the tournament but in many jurisdictions, such an arrangement is illegal. The advantage of the tournament mode is that it acts as an inducement and the number of games played per terminal typically goes up.
Surprisingly, some individual patrons are high users of the terminal and often this use is dominated by one particular game. From a marketing point of view, it would be desirable to have additional information with respect to the number of users using a particular terminal, the particular games played, as well as the frequency with which games are played by location and by user.
The present invention provides a system which encourages the identification of users and acts as an inducement promoting use of the terminal.